Paul Biya | |
|---|---|
 Biya in 2022 | |
| 2nd President of Cameroon | |
| Assumed office 6 November 1982 | |
| Prime Minister | Bello Bouba Maigari Luc Ayang Sadou Hayatou Simon Achidi Achu Peter Mafany Musonge Ephraïm Inoni Philémon Yang Joseph Ngute |
| Preceded by | Ahmadou Ahidjo |
| 5th Prime Minister of Cameroon | |
| In office 30 June 1975 – 6 November 1982 | |
| President | Ahmadou Ahidjo |
| Preceded by | Office re-established; Simon Pierre Tchoungui (1972) |
| Succeeded by | Bello Bouba Maigari |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Paul Barthélemy Biya'a bi Mvondo 13 February 1933 Mvomeka'a, Ntem, French Cameroon (now Cameroon) |
| Political party | RDPC |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3, including Franck and Brenda |
| Education | National School of Administration, Paris Institute of Political Studies, Paris |
| Signature |  |
Paul Biya (born Paul Barthélemy Biya'a bi Mvondo; 13 February 1933) is a Cameroonian politician who has served as the second president of Cameroon since 1982, having previously been the fifth prime minister of Cameroon from 1975 to 1982. As of 2024, he is the second-longest-ruling president in Africa (after Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo in Equatorial Guinea) and the longest consecutively serving current non-royal national leader in the world and the oldest head of state in the world.
A native of Cameroon's south, Biya rose rapidly as a bureaucrat under President Ahmadou Ahidjo in the 1960s, as Secretary-General of the Presidency from 1968 to 1975 and then as prime minister. He succeeded Ahidjo as president upon the latter's surprise resignation in 1982 and consolidated power in a 1983–1984 staged attempted coup in which he eliminated all of his major rivals.[1]
Biya introduced political reforms within the context of a one-party system in the 1980s, later accepting the introduction of multiparty politics in the early 1990s under serious pressure. He won the contentious 1992 presidential election with 40% of the plural, single-ballot vote and was re-elected by large margins in 1997, 2004, 2011, and 2018. Opposition politicians and Western governments have alleged voting irregularities and fraud on each of these occasions. Multiple sources have provided evidence that he did not win the elections in 1992[2][3][4] and the political opposition along with others have alleged subsequent elections suffered from rampant fraud.[5][6][7]
- ^ Emvana, Michel Roger (2005). Paul Biya: les secrets du pouvoir (in French). KARTHALA Editions. ISBN 978-2-84586-684-3. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
- ^ "Elections. La fraude "made in Cameroon" fait fureur". www.cameroonvoice.com. 29 October 2012. Archived from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
- ^ Gros, Jean-Germain (July 1995). "The Hard Lessons of Cameroon". Journal of Democracy. 6 (3): 112–127. doi:10.1353/jod.1995.0048. Project MUSE 16689.
- ^ Huband, Mark (January 1993). "Cameroon: A flawed victory". Africa Report. 38 (1): 41. ProQuest 195170870.
- ^ "Cameroon poll marred by fraud". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- ^ "Cameroon election deeply flawed, says US envoy". France 24. 20 October 2011. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- ^ Maclean, Ruth; Kiven, Brenda (22 October 2018). "Biya wins again in Cameroon as crackdown disrupts anglophone vote". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2024.